Spell out policies to prevent farmers’ suicide, SC to Centre

The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Centre about its policies to prevent farmer suicides in the country, saying that paying compensation to the victim’s families is not the real solution.

A bench comprising Chief Justice J.S. Khehar, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice S.K. Kaul said the issue of farmers’ suicide is of “extreme importance” and it is surprising that the government has not taken any action to address the causes behind these suicides, happening for so many decades.

The bench said it was sad and unfortunate that farmers were committing suicides on account of crop failure and inability to repay agricultural loans.

“We feel that you (government) are going in a wrong direction. Farmers take loan from banks and when they are unable to repay, they commit suicide. The remedy to the problem is not to pay money to farmers after the suicide, but you should have schemes to prevent this,” said the bench, expressing its displeasure.

The central government told the court that it has started many schemes for farmers and the 2015 crop insurance scheme would drastically reduce such fateful incidents.

The court was hearing the plea filed by NGO Citizens Resource and Action and Initiative, seeking compensation to the families of the debt-ridden farmers who had committed suicide in Gujarat. The bench had earlier expanded the scope of the petition to the entire country.